1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible conductor of high strength and light weight available to various kinds of electric wires such as trolley lines, overhead power lines, electric wires for wire harness and others.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, for purposes of imparting high tensile strength to conductors used to trolley lines, overhead power lines, electric wires for wire harness and others, for example as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) such a conductor 13 has been employed where a plurality of reinforcing fibers 10 made of carbon fibers are encircled with a metal matrix 11 dispersed with ceramic particles, and if required, further furnished with a coating layer 12 on the outer circumference of the metal matrix. However, since in such a conductor 13, each of the reinforcing fibers 10 is encircled with the metal matrix, the reinforcing fiber 10 is limited in serving performance, and in particular if the reinforcing fiber 10 occupies about 50% or more of the whole of the electric wire (volume ratio), flexural rigidity is too strong as a whole of the conductor and handling faculty is inferior.
For easily bending the conductor 13, the thickness of the metal matrix 11 is reduced to make the whole of the conductor thin, but in turn the reinforcing fiber 10 is exposed in the surface of the metal matrix 11, and the conductor 13 is difficult to make circular and a measure is necessary for die-processing. The coating layer 12 is thickened to correct the conductor 13 to be circular, inviting results opposite to aiming at reduction of the diameter.
As mentioned above, the conventional conductor supporting the reinforcing fiber therein is limited in improvement of tensile strength owing to restriction of the volume ratio of the reinforcing fiber, and is not suited to reduction of the diameter, either.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a conductor having excellent tensile strength and bending characteristic and suited to reduction of the diameter thereof.
For accomplishing the object, the invention is to offer a flexible conductor of high strength and light weight (called briefly as xe2x80x9cconductorxe2x80x9d hereafter) which is provided by disposing at the center of the conductor a core material includes a plurality of twisted reinforcing fibers, and encircling a metal matrix therearound.